Jury Duty

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Jeff Leave a comment

“The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed…” (US Constitution, Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 3).

Last week, I was summoned for jury duty. I absolutely loved my Consitutional Law and Administrative Law classes at the University of Utah, so  I was kind of excited and I instantly had flashes of the movie Twelve Angry Men flash through my mind. Despite a hectic schedule and several pressing projects at work, I proudly fulfilled my civic duty and travelled downtown to the Salt Lake City Courthouse. Strangely, I have lived in Utah for the last 17 years, but this was the first time I had been selected to possibly serve on a jury for a state trial. I had been summoned a few years ago for jury duty in Federal Court, but I was eliminated for cause because I went to high school with the prosecuting attorney (John Huber). The State Courts draw potential jurors randomly from voting and drivers license records, which is why I was surprised I had never been chosen until now (my wife has never been selected). I also learned that the Salt Lake City Court only handles misdemeanor cases, so most of the proceedings last only one day, and the jury only consists of four people.

Themis, Greek Titaness of Divine Order and Law

Themis, Greek Titaness of Divine Order and Law

I was juror number 18 out of 22, so I knew my chances were small that I would ultimately end up serving (I also later found out that they start at the top of the list and work their way down, which made my chances even slimmer). After filling out the paperwork and getting our whopping salary of $18.50 for our day of service (plus the ever-important parking validation), we had to wait around for more than an hour while the court docket was reviewed and the judge decided which trial was ready to proceed (the first two trials on the docket had motions filed to postpone, and then it took some time to get the involved parties ready for the third trial). Once everyone was in place, we were escorted into the courtroom and introduced to the judge, the lawyers, the defendant, and the witnesses. The judge explained the nature of the case before us, which involved domestic assault, and then we proceeded with voir dire, the process wherein the judge asks questions of the jury pool to determine if there might be any reason(s) that would call into question our ability to be impartial. This took a while because about half the panel raised their hands when asked about any past experience with violence in their families. The judge and lawyers retired to the judge’s chambers and each person that raised their hand was taken one by one into his chambers to hear what their experience consisted of. When all the questioning was finished, the list of jurors was reviewed by the lawyers, and they each took turns with their peremptory strikes. Both sides are allowed to eliminate three jurors from the list without need for any cause or reason. Finally, the judge announced the names of the four selected jurors (numbers 3, 5, 8, and 11) and the rest of us were dismissed.

Was I disappointed? A little bit, but I got over it pretty quickly as I headed home for lunch. I would gladly have taken my turn and tried my best to be fair and attentive for the sake of both sides, but maybe next time.

 

Government

BYU-Utah Rivalry Week

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Jeff Leave a comment

Usually I’m not one to get caught up in hype, but every year when BYU and the University of Utah play each other in football, there is almost a palpable excitement in the air and it is difficult to ignore the propaganda. Granted, it used to be bigger when BYU and Utah played each other in the last game of the regular season and a conference championship was on the line, but it is still exciting. I have also experienced first-hand the Duke-North Carolina basketball and Miami-Florida football rivalry games, and I believe the BYU-Utah rivalry is every bit as big and electrifying.

I may be criticized for this, but I did graduate from both BYU and the University of Utah, so I feel at liberty to cheer for both teams until they play each other. In a way, I think it makes the big game that much bigger when both teams are undefeated. However, when they play each other, I always have to go with my undergraduate team: BYU. That was also the team I grew up routing for and I remember watching the games with my father who was a big BYU fan. With that in mind, I had to post this video, which was put together by BYUtv just in time for the big game this week: the Top 10 BYU plays from the BYU-Utah games over the years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrjzNikLm9s

I would have to agree with the rankings, and I just have to add that I had the opportunity to be in Rice-Eccles Stadium for the #1 play. It was incredible to be there. We were sitting in one corner section of the stadium, a small sliver of blue surrounded by a vast sea of red. The game was close and went back and forth until the very last play of the game, which unfolded right below where we were seated. When that last pass was caught, the whole stadium deflated and went silent, except for our section. We stayed after the game, took pictures standing in front of the scoreboard, and relished every minute of the win.  At any rate, enjoy the video, happy rivalry week, and go cougars!

 

Top 5 Lists

Financial Freedom: Part 2

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Jeff Leave a comment

With strep throat twice in the last three weeks (the first round of antibiotics I took didn’t work), I haven’t felt up to doing much writing. I also debated whether to finish this series, but the talks in church last week were on financial and spiritual preparedness, so I took that as a sign that I better continue.

In the 1973 movie The Friends of Eddie Coyle, the character Jackie Brown (played by Steven Keats) says, “This life’s HARD man, but it’s HARDER if you’re stupid!”

When it comes to your finances, you have to be smart. That means making a budget, setting goals, and tracking your spending. The secret to becoming financially independent is really quite simple: you either create a software program that revolutionizes the computer industry, or more commonly, you save small amounts of money regularly over long periods of time.

I’ve thought long and hard about the biggest problem for most people to get ahead, and the bottom line is that they cannot control their spending, so life becomes a lot harder. I loved the book “Driven,” the autobiography of Larry Miller. Although he only had a high school diploma, he became a self-made millionaire, successful businessman, and owner of the Utah Jazz. He worked very hard for his money, but the reason he even got ahead at all was that he and his wife were smart about spending it. They refused to use credit cards and tried to avoid taking out loans, and when they did have to take out a loan, they worked hard to pay it off as soon as possible and always early. He said the key to them becoming financially independent, and where most people fail, is that when he received a raise or bonus, instead of increasing their standard of living, they would save the extra income and invest it. When people go on exotic vacations, buy extravagant homes, or splurge on fancy cars, they are simply increasing their spending and maintaining the same level of debt relative to their income, so they will never get ahead financially. Larry Miller mentions in the book that it was years before he even bought a power lawn mower, rather, he used an old manual one with the twirly blades. Now we have never owned a push mower, but this is part of the reason Dawn and I spent very little on our honeymoon. We drove to St. George and stayed in her grandparents’ trailer. We even bought groceries and ate ‘in’ for most of our meals. Perhaps if we had more to spend, we would have, but we realized our limitations and stayed within our means as best we could.

MIke Tyson declared bankruptcy in 2003

Matt Harpring, former Utah Jazz player, wrote an interesting article on ksl.com that talks about why athletes go broke. It truly is mindboggling to most people the amount of money these professional athletes earn, yet he noted that about 60% of NBA players are out of money within five years of retirement, while about 78% of NFL players are broke within two years of hanging up the cleats.

MC Hammer filed for bankruptcy in 1996.

Most professional athletes change their spending habits while the money is good, and then struggle after retirement, oftentimes going bankrupt in just a few years. Matt made one observation that I think really hits home is this: “Regardless of salary, statistics show many Americans spend everything they earn. As dangerous as that is for the ordinary folk, it’s even more so for athletes that are one injury away from a career being over.” I would beg to differ in that it is dangerous for everyone regardless of profession because we are all just one tragic accident or health crisis away from a career being over, and who wants to work until their 70 years old anyway?

Elder Perry shared some alarming statistics during his financial class last month. He said that according to the US Census Bureau, in 2011, nearly 50 million seniors were living below the poverty level (about 16% of seniors), and many more live just on the edge of a financial crisis. Most of them rely solely on Social Security and Medicare for their sustenance, but that is barely enough to live on, especially when you throw in out-of-pocket health costs. Many businesses no longer offer pensions, and even those that do are no longer a guarantee. It is really up to each individual to plan for their retirement and not blindly hope or rely on others to fill that need. Elder Perry offered a great quote: “Sacrifice now or sacrifice later, but sacrifice you will.”

With that sacrifice in mind, you have to summon the discipline to spend less than you earn. So ask yourself, am I sacrificing now? Or have you adopted more of an “eat, drink, and be merry” attitude, because tomorrow you may die? What if you don’t die tomorrow? Unless you’re close to finishing that computer software, hopefully you are taking steps to not spend everything you earn. The next installment will look at what to do with the extra money you don’t spend each paycheck.

Finances

The 2012 Summer Olympic Top 5 Performances

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Jeff 1 Comment

I admit it – I am an Olympics junkie. I usually eschew the television and the mindless waste of time that comes with it, but I am a weak, weak man when the Olympics come around every couple of years (Winter and Summer). I have also decided that I pretty much love watching any of the sports, except maybe boxing or rhythmic gymnastics. The folks at NBC will be glad to know that even though I know the outcomes (it is pretty hard to avoid the results if you get on the internet at all during the daytime), I still like watching the tape-delayed events. One thing NBC will probably not be too happy with is that this time around, we are watching everything on DVR, which has been wonderful. We can skip all the commercials, interviews, and other segments we are not interested in and jump right to the actual events. It has freed up considerable time in the evening so that instead of devoting 4 or 5 hours lounging in front of Bob Costas and the rest of NBC’s cast of merry commentators, the Olympics now only has to consume about an hour or so of our evening.

Overall, the games have been competitive, well-played, and enjoyable, with many performances that could have made this list. It was difficult to narrow the performances down to the best ones, which is why there was a tie for number five. At any rate, I usually start the Top 5 list with Honorable Mentions, but for this edition, there were some athletes who stood out for the wrong reasons.

DIS–Honorable Mention:

  • Usain Bolt , who is  electrifying when he runs, but not when he opens his mouth. I cannot stand his boasting, egoism, and finger wagging.
  • South African swimmer Cameron van der Burgh, who admitted he cheated when he won the gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, but he rationalized it by saying most of the swimmers are doing the same thing. Swimmers are only allowed one “dolphin-kick” after they push off the wall on their turn, but video replay shows he took three.
  • Cheap shot basketball players: Argentina guard Facundo Campazzo, who purposely hit US forward Carmelo Anthony in the groin while Anthony was shooting a 3-pointer during the Americans’ 126-97 victory.  Not to be outdone, French forward Nicolas Batum punched Spain guard Juan Carlos Navarro below the belt so that Navarro “would have a good reason to flop.”

Had to add some Honorable Mentions, especially after my mother pointed out the Top 5 were all Americans:

  • Mo Farrah, Great Britain — He literally lit up the home crowd at Olympic Stadium by winning both the 5K and 10K gold medals. The Brits were going berserk in the crowd. My fastest 5K is just over 24 minutes, he ran it in 13:41. The look on his face as he crossed the finish line is just priceless.
  • David Rudisha, Kenya — led from start to finish and won the 800-meter gold medal in a dominating track performance. Britain’s own Sebastian Coe called it the “top effort of the games,” and it was pretty cool to watch.
  • Oscar Pistorius, South Africa — ran in both the 400-meter and 4X400-meter relay despite losing both legs below the knee when he was a baby. Not only is it much more mechanically inefficient to run with his prosthetics, he has severe blisters and sores on both leg stumps due to the intense friction.
  • Bryshon Nellum, USA — won a silver medal with the US Men’s 4X400 relay team after doctors told him he would never run competitively at a world-class level again. He was the victim of mistaken identity when shot by gang members in a drive-by shooting near the USC campus. Both legs were shot, and he required 3 surgeries to repair the damage, the last surgery occuring just one year ago.

5. US Women’s Soccer or US Women’s Water Polo Teams or US Women’s Indoor Volleyball – It is too bad the soccer and water polo gold medal matches were on at pretty much the same time. It reminded me of the NCAA Basketball Tournament where everything kind of stops at work while the games were being played. Great for patriotism, not so good for productivity.

4. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings – The beach volleyball gold medal game ended up being USA (Misty and Kerri) vs USA (April Ross and Jen Kessy). When one of the kids asked my wife which team we were cheering for, she said the old ones, of course. Plus, they didn’t have to hug each other after every single point. What a way to finish an amazing career for Misty and Kerri with a gold medal for the third straight Olympics, during which they only ever lost one set en route to those three gold medals.

3. Jordyn Wieber and Gabby Douglas – There is a lot of pressure that comes with Olympic competition, but even more when you are the favorite to win. Poor Jordyn made a few costly errors and barely missed out qualifying for the Individual All-Around Finals to her two teammates. As the two-time defending World Champion, Jordyn was the heavy favorite to win the gold, but didn’t get a chance. It was heart-wrenching to watch her try and compose herself while waiting to be interviewed after the qualifying round, but she pulled herself together and performed well the following night to help win the gold for the US Team All-Around. Also, hats off to Gabby Douglas for her stellar performance winning the gold medal in the Individual All-Around instead of Jordyn Wieber. She looked like a champion despite her hair controversy, and she won with dignity.

2. Michael Phelps – Somebody will break his medals record someday, but not for a long while. As far as swimmers go, he is the Michael Jordan or Wayne Gretzky of the water, and what an amazing opportunity to watch history as he raced in his last Olympics. I think the best moment was the Final of the 100-meter butter fly, his 20th gold medal. Out of 8 swimmers, Phelps was in 7th place at the turn (50-meters), but he showed his greatness by passing the field and winning the race by 0.23 seconds. He won this event in Beijing and Athens also, which makes it even more remarkable. NBC won’t allow the videos to be shared yet, but here is the link to their website if you care to watch.

 Michael Phelps wins gold in final individual race

1. Manteo Mitchell – He didn’t win a medal, but to me he epitomizes what the Olympics are all about. During the he first leg of the US Men’s 4X400 meter relay, he sustained a fractured fibula halfway around the track but still finished the race. He said the leg felt kind of funny during warm-ups, and then 200 meters into his run, he felt a pop and immediate pain. He knew that he couldn’t stop, or the US Men’s team would be disqualified. Although he was in excruciating pain and limping badly, he finished the last 200 meters running faster than I could on two good legs. In an interview after the diagnosis was confirmed, he said: “I knew if I finished strong we could still get it (the baton) around. I saw (teammate) Josh Mance motioning me in for me to hand it off to him, which lifted me. I didn’t want to let those three guys down, or the team down, so I just ran on it. It hurt so bad.” Later, he watched on crutches as the US Men’s team went on to earn a silver medal. Well done, Manteo. Makes me feel a little foolish when I complain about a little stiffness or soreness when I run. Again, video link is below if you care to watch.

Manteo Mitchell runs 4×400 relay on broken leg

Now that the Olypics are about over, looks like I have some yardwork to catch up on.

Top 5 Lists

Financial Freedom: Part 1

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Jeff Leave a comment

We had a wonderful lesson in church this past Sunday. Because it was a fifth Sunday, we had a combined Priesthood/Relief Society meeting and our Bishop brought  in a Financial Counselor from the LDS Church Employment Services. His name is Elder Michael Perry, he works as an adjunct professor in Finance at the Community College, and he retired at the age of 45 using these same principals he teaches to others for free. Some of the material I had heard before and read from other sources, but although the packaging or presentation might change, the principles themselves do not. We received an abbreviated summary of a summary, but he boiled it down nicely and offered to share more at the monthly classes at the LDS Employment Center for those who might be interested.

Here are the steps that Elder Perry shared with us today, along with some of my own insight and thoughts that I have learned over the years.

1. Pay an honest tithe and a generous fast offering.

Pay your tithing (10%) and a generous fast offering first.

You have to pay the Lord first. He gives us everything, and all He asks for in return is 10%. Entire books have been written about the blessings of paying a full tithe and fast offering, but if we want to have the windows of heaven open unto us, we have to put the Lord first. It’s also good fire insurance. See Malachi 3: 8-12 in the Old Testament. The promised blessings are both temporal and spiritual, and sometimes we may not even realize we are being blessed, such as not getting sick or finding a good job or having our car run without breaking down as often. I have found that when I pay my tithing, I do receive blessings more than I can receive. In fact, I can’t afford to not pay my tithes and offerings.

2. Stop going into more debt.

After we are square with the Lord, we have to change our habits. Financial problems usually have nothing to do with money and everything to do with our behavior. If we truly want to change, we have to stop spending money we don’t have. I love this video clip of a skit from Saturday Night Live, with Steve Martin and Amy Poehler, which clearly illustrates this point:

“Don’t Buy Things You Can’t Afford” SNL Skit

 

Now don’t get confused by all this. It’s really not that difficult. I love the adage: “Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” After we finished off our basement, we waited for 18 months to save up money before purchasing furniture for the room. We used beanbags and pillows in the meantime, and when we did get the furniture, it was a nice feeling to know that the couches were paid in full. Church leaders have counseled us that the only things we truly should go into debt for are a modest home and an education. For everything else, debt should be avoided at all costs. It may take some pain, sacrifice, and patience, but in the end we will never be successful if we keep going into debt.

(To be continued….)

 

family, Finances

Albion Basin, Alta Ski Resort

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Jeff Leave a comment

Alta Ski Resort near the entrance to the Albion Basin Trail.

We are lucky to live in such a beautiful area. With the Pioneer Holiday in Utah today, we decided to take the kids up Little Cottonwood Canyon to see the flowers at Albion Basin. In only took 45 minutes to drive up to Alta Ski Resort from our house. Although it is the 24th of July, there is still a little snow up in the top of the canyon. However, the weather was perfect for a hike: sunny and calm with the temperature in the upper 60’s.

Hiking on the Albion Basin Trail about 9000 ft. above sea level.

The sad part is that even though my wife and I grew up in Utah, we had never been up to Alta before. Yet in the parking lot, there were license plates from Georgia, Wisconsin, and even Maine. As we were growing up, we never could afford to go skiing, which is tragic considering the world-class resorts in our own backyard. At any rate, we figure it’s not too late to give our children the opportunity to appreciate some of the wonders and beauty of nature around us. Although there were a few groans when we loaded up the car, they were all grateful once we were on the trail.

As we arrived at the top of the canyon, we were a little disappointed to find that the Albion Basin Campground and parking lot were already full. Not that we were planning on camping, but we were going to park at the campground parking lot and hike the 1.5-mile trail to Cecret Lake. I really shouldn’t have been surprised with the crowd considering it was a holiday weekend. Not to be deterred, we parked a little farther down the road and took off on the Albion Basin Trail from the base of Alta Ski Resort. We were constrained on time, so we didn’t make it all the way up to the lake, but we enjoyed hiking a little over a mile up the trail.

It was gorgeous! Lots of wildflowers blooming along the trail with a variety of vivid colors: purples, reds, whites, yellows, oranges, etc. It felt good to breathe in the  fresh air. Very invigorating. I’m sure we’ll do it again (this time all the way up to Cecret Lake) as there is still plenty of summer to go before the snow starts to fly.

family

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Jeff Leave a comment

Bright Angel Point, North Rim of the Grand Canyon

My family and I spent this past week in St. George, Utah, and on Friday, we had the opportunity to visit the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. From St. George, it took about three hours to drive there, so we left early in the morning. The last time I tried this trip was many years ago while on my honeymoon. My new bride and I spent two hours driving down to Jacob’s Lake, Arizona, only to discover that the North Rim of the Grand Canyon closes during the winter (we were married in November). This was in the day before you could check things out on the internet ahead of time, so instead of the Grand Canyon, all we really got to see were the polygamist families in Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona.  Needless to say, we made sure the park was open this time around.

The scenery along the route is just incredible, especially the last hour or so as you drive across the Kaibab Plateau and past Jacob Lake in Arizona. The forest is wonderfully dense and surprisingly green, and at times you wonder if you really are in Arizona. After we passed the ranger station, it was still another 25 minutes or so to drive to the Visitors Center. We caught glimpses of the canyon through the trees, but we didn’t get our first good look until we parked and walked into the Grand Canyon Lodge. As you enter the lobby, you can see right through to a large window along the entire back of the lodge, and my teenage son pretty much summed it up when he said: “Wow, look at that!”

Looking across Bright Angel Canyon towards the South Rim Visitors Center

Talk about breathtaking. No wonder Arizona calls itself the Grand Canyon State. There is nothing else like it in the world, and in fact, it is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and more than one mile deep (6000 feet) at its deepest point. From the North Rim Visitors Center we could not see the bottom of the canyon, but we could just barely make out Grand Canyon Village and the South Rim Visitors Center about 10 miles away as the crow flies.

Yes, the boys really are as close to the edge of the Grand Canyon as they look. My wife was about to faint while I yelled at them to get back. Never trust the judgement of a teenager.

There are a few reasons the North Rim is better than the South Rim. First, the North Rim sits about 1000 feet higher in elevation than the South Rim, so it is not as hot (about 71 degrees the day we were there, while St. George was near 100 degrees that day). Because of the higher elevation (about 8000 feet above sea level), the North Rim also receives more precipitation which results in deeper and longer tributary washes and finger canyons than the south side.

Picnic next to the edge of the Grand Canyon.

 

The North Rim also has a few more trails to hike than the South Rim, with seven trails that are less than four miles round-trip. We even stopped for lunch at a picnic area just off the roadside that was only a few yards from the edge of the canyon.

A magnificent view of the eastern end of the Grand Canyon from Vista Encantada, situated at 8480 feet above sea level.

 

 

Lastly, the North Rim is situated out on a peninsula of the Kaibab and Walhalla Plateaus so you essentially have the Grand Canyon on three sides. If you get the chance, make plans to visit. It is certainly worth the effort and something that everyone should do at least once in their lifetime.

 

family

Sherlock

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Jeff Leave a comment

Sherlock. Most people know his last name – Holmes – although it is really not necessary to mention it. Kind of like Elvis, Madonna, or Oprah – they all have last names, but they are so famous, they are instantly recognizable simply by their first name.  Long before CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Bones, Psych, Monk, Colombo, or any other number of detective shows, there was Sherlock Holmes, who became incredibly popular due to his knack for solving impossible crimes through logical reasoning and the early use of forensic science.

Sherlock Holmes as illustrated by Sidney Paget

I have been a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes since high school. My girlfriend at the time (who I ended up marrying) gave me a Sherlock Holmes book as a Christmas gift. It contains the first 37 of the 56 short stories published by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 1891 to 1905. Sherlock Holmes was first introduced to the world in the novel “A Study in Scarlet,” published in 1887. The last short story, “The Adventure of Shoschombe  Old Place,” was published in 1927. I also own a copy of the novel, “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” which may be the most famous story. At any rate, I have always been a big fan of mysteries, and most of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works are masterpieces.

Sherlock, the BBC TV series

Imagine my joy this past Father’s Day when my children surprised me with Seasons 1 and 2 of the new BBC series, Sherlock. The series stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

It just so happened that earlier that week, we also purchased the DVD copy of Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, the 2011 movie which stars Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson respectively.

Let me just say that Game of Shadows is good, but the BBC series, Sherlock, is extraordinary. The BBC version essentially stays true to the original stories from Doyle while updating the setting to London today, and at the same time, they put a fresh twist on the mysteries and mannerisms from the earlier stories. There is still 221B Baker Street and their landlord, Mrs Hudson, Sherlock’s brother Mycroft, and of course, James Moriarty. However, the stories are brilliantly adapted to today’s technological advances and societal attitudes. For example, instead of habitually smoking a pipe, he wears multiple nicotine patches. Dr. Watson is still a medical doctor who just returned from war, but instead of serving in the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880), he served in modern-day Afghanistan (which ironically is nearly the same, unwinnable war today). Dr. Watson also serves as the scribe and chronicler of their adventures, but instead of publishing them in a magazine, he has his own blog. Sherlock and Watson also use cell phones, texting, X-rays, and all sorts of modern lab equipment. They even note that Irene Adler has her own website and twitter account. Now all of these would be simply amusing if it were not for the exceptional writing, acting, and directing of the shows. The dialogue sparkles, the mysteries are fresh, and the techniques they use to weave in the texting and such are just amazing. My favorite episodes are #3 (“The Great Game”), #4 (“A Scandal in Belgravia”), and the best one is episode #6 (“The Reichenbach Fall”). In fact, I would equate Episode #6 with the second Batman movie, The Dark Knight (2008), in both suspense and excitement.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson in the BBC TV series, Sherlock.

If you are not familiar with how Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson came to be, I would highly recommend starting out with episode #1 (my wife said it helped her understand a lot better). Sherlock is one of the best TV shows to come around in a while, and I would say probably one of the best adaptations ever of Sherlock, but the only complaint I have is that there are only three episodes per season. I can’t wait for the next installment.

.

Reviews

Ragnar Relay 2012 Wrap-Up

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Jeff 2 Comments

First off, for those who aren’t familiar with a Ragnar Relay race, I found this video that does a pretty good job explaining it. Let me just add that with the teams I have been on, we have never rented a van due to the expense, but it sure would have be nice to have the extra leg room. Oh, and you also get a medal at the Finish Line.

And yeah, it is fun.

So I received a telephone call from my friend/neighbor about two weeks before the race. She asked if I was interested to join the Coke Swire corporate team as they had a few runners who dropped out. When I found out that Coke was covering all the expenses except food, it was a no-brainer. This was the third year in a row that I have run the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay, and the one word that would best describe the race this year was: HOT!!! Usually, the lack of sleep is the biggest challenge, but this year it was also extremely warm and difficult to stay hydrated. Overall, eight of our twelve runners were rookies, so we really didn’t expect to break any records (we finished in just over 33 hours). In the end, the runners in our van were great and extremely supportive, especially in the heat, and believe me, I sure did appreciate the encouragement.

In years past, my first run had been split into two separate runs, but due to some damage to the Old Snowbasin Road from last year’s wet spring, the road was not drivable and they had to combine the two legs into one. Overall, the climb from Pineview Reservoir up to Snowbasin Ski Resort travelled 7.3 miles with a total elevation climb of 1830 feet (see the embedded maps for all 3 runs at the bottom of the post). At the start of my run, it was just after 6:00 PM and still 78 degrees outside. I dipped a bandana in the ice water in the cooler and wrapped it around my head, which helped a lot. I was hoping to finish under 75 minutes, but I just missed at 78 minutes. The frustrating part is that I only had 6 “road kills” while I was passed by 13 other racers. Holy cow there were some amazing runners.

My second leg was a nice, fairly flat run for 5.5 miles around Rockport Reservoir. I started about 6:15 AM and the sun was just coming up over the mountains to the east of the water. It was beautiful! But it was also very cold (only 42 degrees) and I actually ran in a sweatshirt. The elevation climb was about 430 feet, mostly up to the top of the Rockport dam. I finished in 52 minutes, so nothing to brag about, with 11 road kills and 6 runners who passed me.

My third leg was another killer. The first mile was uphill to the top of Guardman’s Pass, and then downhill for about another 6 miles to the Deer Valley Ski Resort parking lot. I started around 5:00 in the afternoon, and it was about 83 degrees. I again used the ice water bandana trick. One other challenge was the altitude and thin air at the top of the run (almost 9000 feet above sea level). Also to make matters worse, about 2 miles into the run, the insole of my left shoe slid forward and crowded my toes as I was running downhill — ended up with a small blister on my toe. I actually felt pretty good during the run, but the next day my anterior tibialis muscles were shredded from all the eccentric contractions coming down the hill. At any rate, I finished the 7.2 miles in 63 minutes. I had 9 road kills, but broke even with 9 other runners who passed me.

This year was probably the toughest Ragnar yet for me personally. Would I do another one? Of course! I can’t wait for the next one. It is always a challenge. Slightly different from a marathon or half-marathon, especially with the elevation changes, but it brings a certain satisfaction knowing you have overcome the struggles and difficulties the race presents.  And don’t forget, …it is fun.

Races

Eclipse Chasing

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Jeff Leave a comment

No, not the movie… an actual eclipse.

To be precise, we enjoyed an annular eclipse on Sunday, May 20th, 2012. Where we live in Utah, the eclipse lasted about 90 minutes, and at its peak, about 87% of the sun was covered by the moon. It was truly an annular eclipse as viewed in Southern Utah near Cedar City, but that’s over 3 hours from our house.

The last time I remember seeing an eclipse, I was in elementary school and we were allowed out onto the playground to view it with pinhole viewers. According to the NASA webpage, it was in 1979, and the sweet spot to view it in North America was in Idaho, but we were able to see partial coverage in Utah. Technically speaking, the last total eclipse in Utah occurred in 1994, but at the time, we were living in North Carolina and I don’t remember any chance we had to view it then.

Proudly displaying our Pinhole Projector tube.

With such an awesome chance to see something so rare, I decided to make our own device to safely view the eclipse. I remembered some of the devices we used when I was back in elementary school, and after some brief research on the internet, I found what I was looking for: a pinhole projector. You can make a simple pinhole projector just by poking a small hole in one sheet of white paper, and then holding it up above another sheet of white paper. The difficulty with this is that it is faint, and you have to be a good aim. I actually took an old box and with some help from the kids, we made a long tube. I knew that the longer the tube, the bigger the image. The exact equation is the length of the box times 0.0093, so for a box 5 feet long, that would be 60 inches x 0.0093, or an image that is 0.56 inches in diameter. We were able to construct a tube that was about 78 inches long. We used a piece of tinfoil on one end of the box and carefully poked a small hole through the smooth tinfoil. Then on the other end, we taped a piece of white paper. In a sense, it is similar to the human eye, with an iris, pupil, and retina.

Just before the clouds rolled in.

Once we had the pinhole projector tube completed, we excitedly rushed outside to try it. The eclipse was just starting, and to our delight, the projector worked, especially when we covered our head and viewing area to help the image stand out more in the darkness under the blanket. Unfortunately, less than 10 minutes after the eclipse started, a bunch of clouds rolled in and obscured our view. We waited about 30 minutes to see if it would clear, and from where we live, it didn’t look like it was going to happen. That’s when the chase began. We threw the projector in the back of the SUV and took off down Highway 111 towards the dampened sunshine peeking around the clouds at the north end of the Salt Lake Valley. At first, it looked like we might have to travel all the way to Saltair on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, but as luck would have it, by the time we reached Magna, the clouds had parted there and we were able to stop at my in-laws home to view it in their backyard. My father-in-law even had a welder’s mask that we could also use to watch the eclipse. It was truly spectacular!

Works similar to a camera from the 19th century.

An actual view of the eclipse in our Pinhole Projector tube.

An actual view of the eclipse in our Pinhole Projector tube.

We took turns and marveled at the cool beauty of the celestial event. Makes you realize how small and insignificant we are in this universe.

The next total eclipse viewable from North America will occur on about August 21, 2017, followed by another one in 2024. I think next time, we will have to build a pinhole projector tube over 10-feet long – that will be fun!

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